Luck Had Nothing To Do With It
by Lily Hanson
Summary: Young Jake learns to score a goal.


_Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers Megaforce. This story is fan-made._

_Author's Note: This is not where the Megaforce series starts. If you want to read the series without getting lost, I suggest you read my stories in the order they appear:_

_**No To Date Nights - The Party Night - Project Partners - Megaforce: Lives Behind The Masks - **__**Prom Night**__ - __**A Trip To Remember - First Meetings - Something She Loves – Protective Morans – Samurai In Harwood County – Rainy Days**_

As eight year old Jake kicked the ball around the soccer field, he looked over to the side, where his best friend Noah was supporting him. Noah wasn't all that into sports. Even though his asthma was getting better, he still didn't like doing too much physical activity. Noah preferred to work on projects. Noah was a man of science. He was very smart, and was the geeky kid in class. Despite that, Jake and Noah hung out all the time. They were very different, but that didn't keep the friendship from growing. Noah would hang out at the soccer fields on the weekend with Jake, and sometimes even helped him practice. Jake would go to Noah's house after school and they would either work on their homework together, or Jake would help Noah with his latest experiment. Sometimes they were a little boring. Noah had asked Jake to help him study dirt one afternoon, and there hadn't even been a worm or anything inside of it. Sometimes, the experiments were fun. Noah once created his own laser pointer, and the boys tested it out by playing with the neighbour's cat.

"Noah!" he called out to his best friend. Noah looked up from his homework and rolled his eyes.

"I don't want to be goalie," he already knew what Jake was going to ask. The soccer boy sighed.

"Please! It's a good way for me to practice scoring goals!"

"But you'll hit me in the stomach again!"

"Not on purpose!"

"But…"

"Please!" Jake dropped down on his knees and put his hands together to beg. "Don't you want my team to win the next game?"

"You know I don't actually care whether your team wins or not, right?"

"Please. It's important to me!"

Noah sighed and set down his homework. This was another reason he and Jake were good friends in spite of their differences. They knew what was important to the other person and were willing to help out when they were needed. Noah knew that if the roles were reversed, if he asked Jake to help him with an experiment that was important to him, Jake would be over in a heartbeat. It was for that reason he stood in net for Jake now.

"Just try not to hit me."

"If I'm any good, I'll never hit you," Jake said. "That's _how_ you score a goal!"

Jake wound up for the first shot, and Noah breathed a sigh of relief when the ball went high over the net. Jake groaned as he chased after it. When he came back, he heard Noah sniggering.

"Shut up," he frowned. "I'm just warming up."

"Look at where you want the ball to go," Noah told him. "It's called aim."

"I'll try it," Jake said. He kept his eyes on the net and wound up for another kick.

He missed the ball entirely. His foot sailed past the ball and he flew back. He fell straight to the ground. Noah sniggered again.

"Know where the ball is!"

"Yeah," Jake got up and brushed himself off. He touched the ball with his foot and then he kept his eyes on the net. He wound up for another kick and this time he hit it. It didn't sail high over the net but it did hit the goal post. It came flying back towards Jake and it hit him in the stomach, "OOF!"

He could hear Noah sniggering, but he could also hear someone else laughing. It sounded like a girl. He turned around and saw one standing behind him on the soccer field.

"This is harder than it looks," he told her as he tried to stand tall.

"It's not that hard," the girl said. "It can't be. The net is huge and your friend is tiny. It would take more talent to hit him than to get the ball in the net."

"No hitting me, please!" Noah called out. Jake rolled his eyes.

"What makes you an expert?" he crossed his arms over his chest as he looked at the girl, "I bet you don't even play soccer."

The girl shook her head, "It's not for me. I don't like it."

"So then shut up," Jake set the ball down. Suddenly, it was snatched up. The girl had taken it from him.

"No one tells me to shut up," she said. She put the ball down at her feet and then wound up to kick. The ball soared through the air and straight into the net. Even if he had tried to go after it, Noah wouldn't have been able to stop that goal.

The girl turned to Jake and gave him a look of pride, "I told you it was easy."

"Lucky shot."

"Luck had nothing to go with it," the girl said. She caught the ball when Noah threw it back and wound up for another kick. It sailed straight into the net again. The girl looked at Jake with that same look, "Mommy says I have natural talent in everything."

"You can't be talented in everything," Jake shook his head. "You're lying."

"She is pretty good, Jake," Noah said as he tossed the ball back. The girl caught it again. Jake frowned.

"That's my ball."

"Here," the girl handed it to him. "Relax. If you try too hard at something, you're going to miss. Just loosen up, take aim, and get a feel for the ball."

"What makes you so smart?"

"My accuracy is 100%."

"Uh…" Jake turned to Noah in net. Noah rolled his eyes.

"That's excellent, Jake."

"Alright, fine," Jake said to the girl, "I'll listen to you. But if this doesn't work, your advice is stupid."

"It'll work," the girl said. Jake relaxed his body. He took in a deep breath and looked around at his surroundings and then to the net. He looked at Noah, and then where he wanted to shoot the ball. He put his foot on the ball once before winding up for the kick.

He watched the ball sail through the air after it connected with his foot. He bit his lip nervously. Noah tried this time to stop the ball, but with no luck. It sailed past him and into the net.

"I did it!" he cried and jumped towards the girl for a hug. She pushed him away.

"Ew, no!"

"Hey, it was just a hug."

"I don't hug," the girl frowned. "I helped you, you say thank you."

"Uh, thanks."

"Now I walk off and let you practice. That's how this works. Goodbye, Jake."

"Goodbye… uh…" Jake was going to ask for her name, but she was already off the soccer field. He saw her walking up to girl on a bike and scratched the back of his neck. Noah came up to him with the soccer ball in hand.

"Who was that?"

"I don't know," Jake shrugged his shoulders. "But I like her."

"Huh?" Noah frowned. "Jake, you like her?"

"She challenges me," Jake said. "My dad says it's good to be challenged sometimes."

"You don't like her, like her, do you?" Noah frowned.

Jake stuck out his tongue, "EW! No, girls are gross!"

"Good," Noah said. He handed Jake back his ball, "Okay, how about you get ten more goals, and then we go back to my house and you can help me come up with a design for my newest project."

"What is it?"

"I don't know yet," Noah said, "That's why I need help."

"Okay," Jake said. "But ten more goals and then we go home."

-Megaforce-

In the present, Jake looked straight at the goalie and reminded himself of what the little girl at the park had told him all those years ago. It was nearing the end of a soccer game between Harwood County and Reefside High. Jake had been a little busy with Ranger duties and so had missed a lot of practice time with his team. He wanted to make it up to them and had a chance. If he got this goal in, it would be the winning goal.

The other team had made a mistake. The ball had hit one player in the arm inside the penalty box. As a result, Jake got a chance for a direct kick in the net. There was only a few minutes left in the game after this. If he scored, and his team could keep the other team from scoring a quick goal before the end of the game, they would win another game.

He relaxed. He loosened up his body. He took in a deep breath and looked to where he wanted to go. He tried not to make it obvious. If the goalie knew which way to dive, he had a better chance of stopping the ball.

Jake looked down at his ball and then he wound up for the kick. At the last minute he looked up again at where he wanted the ball to go. He hit the ball and it sailed through the air. He watched as the goalie dove the opposite way. His heart was pounding. Now that was left was to see if the ball would go in the net.

And it did. The ref blew the whistle for a goal. Jake threw his fist in the air and looked to the sidelines. He could see Coach McKnight doing a little dance to celebrate. Beside him, Gia was smiling and she gave Jake a thumbs up.

Jake smiled back and returned the gesture. He thought back to that day in the park, to the little girl who taught him how to score a goal. He looked to Gia again.

The game resumed for the final minutes, and Harwood County focused on defending their net. They had the lead and with so little time left to play they didn't want to do anything to risk giving it up. When the final whistle blew, the team cheered and celebrated on the field. Jake ran to the sidelines to be with the coach, the substitute players, and most importantly, Gia.

"Nice shot," she said as she gave him a hug. Jake squeezed her gently before turning to the coach and the rest of his players.

"You got lucky there, Holling," one of his teammates teased him. Jake rolled his eyes and was about to say something, but Gia beat him to it.

"Luck had nothing to do with it. It's natural talent."

Jake couldn't stop himself from smiling, but for a different reason this time. He gave Gia another loving squeeze.

"Maybe not a natural talent," he said, "but she's right, luck had nothing to do with it."

"Luck, skill, I don't care," Coach McKnight said, "Celebration dinner is on me tonight! Great work, Jake. This is why I keep you around!"


End file.
